Jan 12th, 2016 Dakar Rally Stage 9 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 9 of the 2016 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon start time: 7:37am/et, Sheldon Creed start time: 8:49am/et.

STAGE 9 TRACKING

STAGE 9: BELEN > BELEN

Connection 111km | Special Stage 285km | Total 396km

COURSE OVERVIEW

This loop stage will not really be one for motorbikes and quad bikes, which will finish the first part of this second marathon stage in an isolated bivouac. Prior to this they will have spent the day, alongside the drivers in the other categories, almost entirely off-piste, both in the vegetation-scattered dunes and on harder terrains, sometimes on river beds. Physically, the day might prove to be a significant challenge, as the mercury soars. The hardiest drivers will also be those who are the most clear headed, able to make the right navigational choices, a major challenge of this special section.

The GREEN section of the route is the connection , the RED is the Special Section of the stage.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris on January 12, 2016 at 10:07am

I hope so, I actually don't show a CP2 for the cars

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Permalink Reply by sabreguy on January 12, 2016 at 10:08am

8 cars are showing thru wp4 and RG is still only showing at wp1

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Urie on January 12, 2016 at 10:16am

This is the worst Dakar that I can remember. It is going to kill sponsorship and support for next year. You can only blame El Nino for so long. First you cancel because of too much rain now it's too hot? Plus, the stages have been pretty much WRC courses.

The sad thing is that yesterday's race and today's terrain seem to be improving yet they are being cancelled as well.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Abrams on January 12, 2016 at 10:21am

An ASO sanctioned contest is only fair to ASO, no one else matters.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Urie on January 12, 2016 at 10:24am

Yeah but if it affects their pocket book they will need to make changes.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Abrams on January 12, 2016 at 10:37am

Nah!
They will just find a new set of suckers to foot the bill.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on January 12, 2016 at 10:17am

WP2, doesn't show at all,

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Permalink Reply by jeff.2066 on January 12, 2016 at 10:19am

From Freedom Rally Racing:
1. The organisers of the Dakar Rally have announced that a traffic accident involving an assistance vehicle has killed one person and left five more injured. The assistance vehicle is believed to have been towing the #409 Mitsubishi Lancer of Lionel Baud - the very same car that had a fatal accident with a spectator in Bolivia last week.
2. Today's stage was expected to be difficult given the profile of the special. The dunes around Fiambala and the hot temperatures promised a tricky day for the competitors. These concerns soon proved to be true and, in light of the high number of competitors already in difficulty, in particular in the bike category, the race management have taken a logical decision. In order to guarantee maximum safety to the entire field, the race will finish at CP2.